Illinois ramps up humor in insurance ad campaign

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 12:28 PMMar 17, 2014 at 12:28 PM

The Associated Press

CHICAGO — President Barack Obama bantered about his health care law with actor Zach Galifianakis on the comedy website Funny or Die last week. The appearance resulted in 32,000 users clicking through to the federal insurance enrollment site within 12 hours.

Illinois officials are hoping for a similar bump. The state is trying to reach young adults through satirical ads placed with The Onion, BuzzFeed and Pandora. State officials say the results look encouraging so far.

Jennifer Koehler is executive director of Get Covered Illinois, state’s health insurance marketplace. She says the targeted efforts have driven 41,300 new users to the state’s website during a recent four-week period.

Time is running out for people who want to buy private health insurance and avoid the penalty. The enrollment deadline is March 31.